My Mermaid Story
by LitheBunnyQ
Summary: So this is nothing like Disney movie and I tried to make it a realistic as possible. This is my modern version of The Little Mermaid and I am using some of the themes from the story. Please read and enjoy and please review or critique, I have 50 pages that I am uploading today. The category choice is because I couldn't find a normal Misc. Books
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Just another typical day spent off in my daydreaming world where I was happily chilling with the guy that I have had a crush on for forever. Things were rather calm today, which is nowhere near normal in this house. When my dad isn't working he usually tries to take my stepbrother Jake and I out surfing. My stepmom was working in her office building today so she wasn't home and Dad, even though he wasn't working today, decided that he was going to take the day off and go chill with his buds down at the local sports bar. So, what I did was I called up my friend Omar, because I knew he would go to the beach, anytime and any day, and we had agreed that he would come and get me and we would go out surfing. Omar has been my friend for as far as I could remember and he has stuck by me all the way into our senior year, even though he will now be going to another school in Hollywood after summer. In the mean time I needed to get ready for him, so I went to my room and stripped of my pajamas and put on my grey and black smoke looking bikini, black gym shorts, and thin white tank top.

Omar arrived about half an hour after we talked and he already had dripping wet, should-length almost orange hair, which looked blood red when it was wet. "Did you leave the beach to come get me?" I joked as I got in. "Heck yes! The swells are amazing out there! Seriously awesome! Get ready to be pounded." He told me as he pulled out into the street. "Is it that bad out there?" I asked him, running a finger through my stylishly short-short hair that the black dye was fading into a chocolaty brown. "Yup," He said as we got on the highway. "Sweetness and can we stop for food after words? I haven't eaten all day." I told him, absent mindedly fingering the shell necklace, it's the curved one like for _The Little Mermaid _that Ursula used to hold her voice in, but it's a creamy white with purplish-pink stripes throughout, I've had it for forever. My dad said was sent in the mail addressed to me from a distant relative when I was born and I've worn it ever since then. "Sure, though you should eat before we go." He said his voice in the usual tone when we bring up the topic of my lack of eating. "Ja, Ja, I get it. I should eat every day, except I'm never hungry." I told him for the umpteenth time.

Omar and I have been friends since I moved to California in kindergarten. I was thrilled to find someone who had a lot in common with me but at the same time was still his own person with his many different styles, to add to that I have had a crush on him since I met him. He's been there through break-ups and supported me when I came out of the closet as a pansexual, it helps that he is like my brother.

We sat in somewhat silence with the radio blaring throughout his amazing green Dodge Challenger, of course I was singing with the songs that I knew and he would laugh at me when I "intentionally" miss the notes. _'I think that a storm would be the only thing to ruin this day…' _I thought to myself as we pulled up at our normal surf joint, which hardly anyone came to during the week days. Today was no exception to that rule of thumb either. I love summer vacation from high school.

"Come on, the swells are gonna pick up more now that you're here." Omar joked as we got out. And it's true, once I stepped onto the sand near the car, the scent of the sea was stronger and waves were rolling in even faster than normal. "Great, seven to eight foot waves, perfect for today." I said as I peeled off my top and stripped of my bottoms. "Yeah, you sure you want to go out there? To be honest, I almost went home but then you called and I figured a lil' longer wouldn't hurt." He told me. I looked up and caught him looking at me in a way that was only in my imagination, which it might have been. I looked down to "find my wetsuit" and hide my blush. "Yeah, positive, why wouldn't I?" I said with a joking tone. _'You're looking amazing today Omar, oh and by the way I've had a crush on you since kindergarten will you go out with me? Like that's going to work!' _I thought to myself as I actually looked for my wet suit.

I finally found my spring suit and the sound of three waves crashing together at once caused me to pause. I looked out to the sea and I could feel in my gut that I shouldn't go out there today, but at the same time something stronger pulled me out. "Hey," I called over. "What's up?" Omar asked, looking over to me a little bit of sleep was working into his eyes. "You just want to chill for a bit first?" I asked, a first time fear of the ocean twisting and knurling my innards. "Totally, I'm starting to feel beat." He told me, a lighter tone to his words. I caught his eye and smiled as I grabbed my gym short bottoms and pulled them back on, intentionally leaving my shirt in the truck.

As we were walking toward shore my stomach gave the loudest growl humanly possible, causing me to blush five shades of red at Omar's laughter. "I told you, you should eat before you go to the beach." He told me, playfully shoving me a little. I returned his play and soon we got into one of our many spars. That soon turned into a shoving match and then he pushed me and I tripped over a branch and I fell with him on top of me, both of us laughing. "You okay?" He asked me when he finished. "Yeah, I'm great." I asked, kind of oblivious to the blush on my face as I felt his body against mine. We sat there in a silence that was unnoticed, our eyes locked onto each other. _'He has beautiful eyes…'_ I thought as they lit up in that special way. That was when I noticed that he and I were blushing and the whole position we are in took notice. "Um, Omar, could you get off?" I asked, a nervous chuckle following my words. "Hmm, nope, I'm comfy." He said flopping down onto me, pinning me in the sand.

I pushed him but that only resulted in a semi-sit up and him pushing against my hands. I finally managed to roll myself out from under him and stand up. He caught my legs and I fell backwards. "Really, you jerk." I said as I managed to slip a leg out from his arms and then just watched him hold my leg and watched my face for what plan I'll come up with next. To both of our surprise, I leaned in and stole a kiss. And that did shock him, because his arms went a little slack and his brown eyes were wide with shock and excitement, a darker blush creeping onto his cheeks. I scrambled backwards and then got up and ran to our destination after checking to see him chasing me, a giggle escaped my lips and I heard him laughing.

We stopped in the little cove like area of rocks that we normally chill in after being out in the water for a couple of hours at a time, out of breath and laughing. He had caught up to me easily since he's like five foot eight. The boards were still there and locked up to the hole in the wall that we made a few years ago. I stripped of my shorts and I glanced over to Omar and saw his eyes dart away from my general direction, and was that really a blush? I looked away at the thought that he was thinking about me the way I think about him. Then the thought of what I did just now hit me with full force. I was red enough to make a tomato turn green with envy. "So, shall we hit the water?" I asked when I started changing. I saw the sky darken just the slightest, promising cloud coverage after a few minutes of silence. "Yeah, go on ahead of me, I'm still a bit out of it." He told me shaking his head in a tired way, stopping to look at me with a longing look that flew right over me because I wasn't paying attention. "Okay, see ya out there." I told him, unlocking my board and after much debate decided not to wear my spring suit. As I was putting the leash on my left ankle I swore I heard Omar say "Put it on the other side." I looked and saw him passed out in the sand, his shoulder length hair kind of looking like fire.

I shook it off and grabbed my board. As I approached the water the urge to comply with the whisper, was almost over powering. Not wanting to ignore this strong feeling, I sat the board down on the shore and swapped ankles. It felt weird to have it on the right ankle but the feeling was gone and I happily marched into the greeting waves. When the water got to be about waist high I jumped on and paddle out, holding onto my board whenever a wave crashed on me. I finally got out far enough that I could determine on whether or not I wanted the wave or not. I could still feel the leash on my right ankle and it still is bothering me. "Okay, we'll try one wave and if I fall then I'm switching." I told myself as I watched a wave go right under me.

I don't know what it is about the ocean but I'm hardly ever scared when I'm in it. In fact it's just the opposite, it calms me so much that it's like I walk into a home that I've been missing for several years. Today was no different and so when I of a good wave, as usual, it obliged diligently. I watched as the wave started popping up and I turned around and paddled as hard as I could. I felt it lift the back of my board up so I moved my weight forward and I shot off and I stood up with my right foot forward and kept my knees bent as I got to my other foot up from under me. I stood up a little more and the leash clothes lined my back foot and I fell backwards. Instinctively I held my breath as I felt the board strain against the leash and I was rolled around in the waves. I was able to surface and I pulled the board to me and I got on the board and paddled back out. Then, once I was back where I was, the leash was being pulled down. I took a breath, and watched the clouds that rolled in over head, dark and thundering, as I was pulled down and further out into the ocean.

It's starting to get harder to hold my breath as I tried to remain calm, though I was starting to panic as the searing pain from lack of oxygen started to burn my throat. I spread my arms trying to slow down but it didn't work and my arms just went above my head. I couldn't hold my breath any longer and it escaped in one sudden whoosh from my lungs. I swallowed water out of reaction to the release of breath and started coughing up the water, choking on the water that rushed in with each cough. My mind started going fuzzy and the one thing I should've thought of before hand finally came to mind. _'Take off the leash idiot!' _I pulled my foot up to me and I just clawed at the velcro until it came off and I saw the light of the surface and started to swim for it. As I got closer, I started to see the blackness of unconsciousness starting from the corners of my eyes. _'This is it; I'm going to die down here. I'm going to die in my second home.' _ I thought as the darkness was spreading through the rest of my vision. Then there was a light coming from my neck and I looked down and saw that my necklace was the source of the light and it was even humming a song that I came up with when I was little. With the last of my energy, I lightly held onto my only source of comfort in my final moment. The last thing I saw after that was what looked like a giant fish swim towards me, and as it got closer, I saw that it was a girl with a fish tail. _'A mermaid from my imagination, how fitting for this end.'_ I blacked out as she grabbed my face and pushed her lips to mine, speaking something I couldn't hear.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I could feel the water still and I figured that I was a ghost or something, bound to that spot of ocean for the rest of eternity. "Is she alright? Did I get to her in time?" A female voice asked. "Yes you did, she will be alright, she just needs to rest while she under goes the transformation." A deep male voice told her. _'The transformation? Into a ghost? What are they talking about?'_ I asked myself. I tried to move my hand but it was too hard, I was so tired. _'Maybe I haven't left my body yet…' _I thought to myself. I could feel movement in the water and the deep voice said to me, "Easy now. You need to rest, the transformation is starting and you just died, you need to stay still." As it spoke I could feel a large hand gently touch my forehead and something warm and calming was spreading through my brain and throughout my entire body, lulling me into a peaceful sleep.

A jolt in my chest woke me and I inhaled a huge deep breath. I flailed my arms as I tried to get my bearings, I felt so weightless, covering my mouth with my hand and when I went to move my feet and legs I was met with loud solid thumps against what I was laying on. I looked down at my lower torso and saw a fish tail. "What the hell?" I screamed, removing my hands and grabbing the thing I was on. I continued to thrash around trying to get up but I couldn't, I was just turning the water and one time, when I flicked my tail, I shot myself off of the table and into the wall head first. There was a loud crash and I heard fast movement in the water to the right of me.

I looked up and saw a man with long red hair and beard. He leaned over me and was making a shushing sound to me. This actually calmed me from my scrambling to get away from him. "Who, who are you?" I asked, the calm still lingering in me. "I am Fernt I am the medical director for changes and transformations. You my girl have had one of the fastest transforming times I've seen. What's your name?" Fernt asked. "Eva Longston." I told him but by now the calm was starting to wear off and I became more alert. "Sir, how is this possible? Is this even real?" I asked him grabbing his helping hand and sat up slowly. "Yes dear girl, this is very real. It's an old magic that is passed down through families ever since dinosaurs were on the planet." Fernt said. "So that means that someone in my family was a mermaid? Then why isn't my entire family in the ocean?" I asked, my mouth asking my mind. Fernt gave a hearty laugh and told me, "Because your theory of mermaid from your junior year in high school is correct. We can leave the water. But once we change, we look different so that we don't scare the land bound people." This caused me to straighten up and start looking for anything reflective. "You will see yourself soon, but for now you need to rest a little longer. The change takes a lot out of us and then you'll need to learn to swim with your fin." Fernt told me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. There was that warm liquid again but it didn't knock me out as quickly as when he touched my forehead but I still passed out right there, lying in Fernt's arms asleep. "No dreams…" Was what I said.

"She is an interesting girl indeed. She sleep talks, was able to propel herself off of the table. Her body temperature is high though, she burned through my calming spell almost instantly. Nurse, what is her status?" Fernt asked the red headed nurse who rushed in with him. "102, I don't think she's eaten anything since that day, that's the only that I could think would cause this, it's like when her mother changed." The nurse told him. "Hmm, thank you nurse, please prepare for transportation to the surface." Fernt said, dismissing her, and watching me as my face distorted from the contents of my dreams. "This child might just be the same as her real mother…" Fernt murmured. He then left the room and soon swam out of the building.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

_"What are you talking about? She can't drown and then not be found! She was out there when the storm hit and now she's gone!" Omar screamed to a life guard over the down pour of rain. "Please, Sir, calm down. We're doing our best to find your girlfriend, we just need more time." Omar gave the guard a sad look. "She's not my girlfriend…I didn't get to ask her to be mine." Omar told the guy, who laughed? "You could've fooled me on that with how you're acting." He told him. This caused him to smile a little but it faded when his name was called by my dad who was bounding over to him. "What happened? Where's Eva?" He asked out of breath. Omar stared at the ground as he told my dad what happened to me, his whole body shaking. I wanted to run over to him and to my dad and tell them that I'm okay, and that I will always watch over them. But what happened instead was that the waves were coming closer to shore faster and bigger. Then, my board showed up, a starfish and some kelp attached to it. That was when my dad broke down and started crying as he picked up my board and carried it over to his Dodge Durango. I couldn't watch anymore of this terrible depressing scene. I decided that I wasn't going to leave them yet that I would fight my way back to them somehow. Before I gained consciousness I saw my dad pass a man with shoulder length, thick, brown, almost black, hair. "I told you this would happen." The man told my dad, and then he left, leaving my dad to putting up the surf board alone with my stepmom to comfort him. Omar ran from the scene getting in his car and drove off spewing rain and sand in his path._

_When Omar pulled up to a park he spotted his target. Omar was running toward a girl with short hair and bangs that covered the left side of her face, she's a friend of mine and her name is Sarah. "Hey, we need to talk." Omar said_, _keeping his distance from her. "What do you want to know?" She asked, surprise lacing her words. "What do you know about Eva?" He asked her. "Why are you asking me this? I thought you two were close." She said. "Yes, but you know everything there is to know because she told you things she wouldn't tell me, so spill." Omar spat, the anger in his voice almost threatening. "Dude, chill, I promised Eva that I wouldn't tell anyone without her permission." Sarah told him. "You have to tell me, Sarah, because Eva…" Omar choked on the tears in his words. "What happened to Eva?" Sarah asked. "She went out surfing right as this storm hit, and she drowned…she's dead." There was a stunned moment of silence. "She…she told me never to tell you this but..." She started. "What did she say?" Omar asked. "She always had a crush on you. She was just scared that you didn't feel the same way about her. She said that if you had liked her she would've been on such a life high, she would never have come down." Sarah told him, shell shocking Omar. Omar looked down, shaking with his fists balled. Then tears started falling and Omar did the impossible, he hugged Sarah. Silently letting their emotions out to each other, the duo stood there as Sarah cautiously comforted the guy who used to hate her guts. I felt like I was hovering over them the entire time and I wanted to do nothing but hug both of them, and hit Sarah cause I'm not dead. 'I wish that they will be happy. I wish that I could be with them! I wish I could be with Omar and that I never went surfing!' I screamed._

_ I imagined myself next to Omar, hugging him and telling him that I'm alive. "Omar, I'm alive…" I whispered in his ear. Of course he didn't hear me so I said it again a little bit louder, "Omar, I'm alive." Still no response, as was almost to be expected, but third time's the charm and I focused all of my will and energy in this final scream, "OMAR, I AM ALIVE!" Then a breeze blew through his hair, teasing it and he looked in my direction, almost like he could see me. I could feel exhaustion in this dream like state and all I managed was to lean forward, and lightly kiss his lips._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

This time I was awoken from my sleep, in a bed. "What? Where am I now?" I asked aloud, I pushed the blanket and comforter off of me enough to sit up, and my stomach giving the most painful hunger growl in the history of stomach growls! My head was spinning as I took in the room I was in, my hair falling over my shoulders and into my face. _'Huh?'_ I thought as I pulled some of my hair in front of me and it looked like it reached my lower back. "What?" I asked a loud as I looked around the room. It wasn't what I was expecting, one; it wasn't in water, two; it wasn't my room. But it kind of looked like it; there were posters of bands, cartoons, stories, clothing sketches and lyrics printed out covering all of the walls in this room that had been in my room. It was spacious, even with the big bed and glass and frame-wire desk. As I got out of the bed, my feet touched cushioned flooring, and when I looked down I saw that it was a rich purple rug that ran about eight feet to the first door, beneath it was coordinating blue, green, white and purple tiles. I also noticed that I'm wearing a tank-top and slightly too big plain grey sweats. I walked toward the door at the end of the rug and saw that there were mosaics in the floor of sea dragons and the ocean. I looked to the light purple door and reached out, saw the shell shaped handle and dropped my hand. I was shaking with laughter that came from the confusion and irony of it all. "Did I die or am I a mermaid?!" I yelled, my hands curling into shaking fists.

There was a sound of running from outside the door and I opened the door to confront whoever was out there and get some answers. "Mocha! Hold on, hold on!" The man from the first part of my "dream" who talked to my dad said, stopping in front of the door and spreading his arms out to stop me. "Whoa, whoa, whoa…what did you just call me?" I asked him, since that's the first thing that my mind registered. "Mocha, that's your name. You can't be called Eva anymore, now that you are a mermaid and all." He told me. "Okay, if I'm a mermaid then how am I in a room I have created in all of my stories?" I asked him, my anger rising. "It's a long story and the reason why you know this room in great detail, is because this was your room as a baby." He said, catching me off guard. "What are you talking about? That doesn't make sense! I lived in…" I trailed off as I tried to remember past kindergarten when my family and I arrived in California. "You were born in the ocean and then brought here by your biological mother and I, your biological father, and raised you with us for two years. Then we had to give you to someone else because we were being hunted." The man told me, dropping his arms in the process. I looked at him like he had a shark for a face because what he just told me cannot be true! "But, my dad, and Trisha, they've been my family for my entire life." I said the confusion and shock clear in my voice as I reached for my necklace instinctively, but it isn't there.

I looked down and flattened my palm to my chest. "Where's my necklace?" I said in a panicked whisper, looking down and all over the floor for it. "Mocha," The man, my dad, said grabbing me gently, "Mocha when a mer-person is born a shell beckons them and that becomes their transformation and magic channel. When we transform we absorb that shell. It forms a birthmark on the body, we never know exactly where because it's always different for everyone." I looked at him and as I tried to understand what I was just told my head was swimming, it all sounded like a hoax, something from a fairy tale! Just then my stomach gave another loud gurgle. The man laughed and pulled me into a one arm hug. "Come on, let's get you some food, you haven't eaten in almost three months!" He told me, leading me to stairs that were down the open hall in front of my door and to the left. "Have I really been out that long?" I asked. "Yeah, which is actually shorter than the normal, but you were the same as your mother when you were changing. Did you eat before you went out?" He asked me. "No, I hardly ate because I was hardly hungry." I told him absent mindedly, taking in the seaweed green walls with family pictures of the man, a woman that I've never seen before, and a baby all smiling and laughing. As we walked down the stairs I noticed that it was a grand staircase like in the houses in Hollywood and it was covered in a plush sea foam white fabric and a Celtic knot design carved in the banister. I was caught in awe at the elaborate design of the house that I actually stopped at the end of the steps.

The stairs lead to a foyer at the front of the house with a double door entry way and a deep blue marble flooring with little diamond shaped crystals spaced a few feet apart from each other. When we turned around I saw that the hallway that was attached to my room was almost like a bridge to the other hallway that had one room where I could see light coming in through the open doorway. In front of us are an area with bean bag chairs and two flat platinum TVs on the walls about five feet up, one is connected to an x-box 360 and the other to a ps3. The wall was split up into six windows which were split into six with the top three shorter than the bottom three. On either side of the room, right before you walk in, branches off in two directions one lead to another room on the right and from what I could see from where I stopped again and the man, my dad, had continued on to the left, and I could barely see a white couch and more tile flooring with a black wall table. Then I realized that I didn't want to get lost so I ran off after the man, my dad. _'If what he says is true… It'll be hard calling him that…' _I told myself as I ran into the room.

I stopped in the doorway as I looked into a completely different setting. The entire room was silver and black and chrome coloured with coral coloured roses in glass vases and one in a black square bowl on a black table with four wood and leather chairs all on top of a faux black fur rug and under a glass rose chandelier. In the center of the large room was an island with six cabinets on the bottom and three double handle drawers on the top with a silver coloured metal top and a sink with a slender nozzle and neck. As I walked in I saw too my right two shiny black doors and more black wood and glass windowed cabinets. "So kiddo, what are you in the mood for?" My new dad asked. "I don't know what do you have in store?" I asked looking in curiosity at what could be inside the door closest to me. "Well, open that door and find out." He said motioning to the very door I was looking at. I opened the door and walked into a dark room but there was a motion detector and I was stunned by a pantry that had shelves lining the walls completely full. "Holy…" I said, as I walked in and down the row backwards. I was near the end when my dad popped out of the door on this end. "So, what do you want?" He asked, causing me to jump. "Hmm…I have a craving for tomato soup." I told him once my heart stopped racing, then connecting the dots that I'm in the pantry and started looking for it. "I already pulled a can before you woke up 'cause that's what I was going to have, it's out on the counter. Go on out, I'll grab another one." My new dad said. "Oh, okay then cool. Do you have material for making grilled cheese?" I asked him as I started to walk out. "Ya, I do I'll be out to make it." He called out. "I can cook you know." I told him. "Oh really, is that a challenge?" He asked as he stepped out with a can of soup and bread. "The cheese is in the fridge in the dairy drawer." He told me as I leaned on the island. "Cheese, dairy door, got it." I told him getting up and getting said cheese.

One hour, and several grilled cheeses later, I am washing my bowl and I couldn't help feel a longing for Omar. My new dad must have read my mind because just then he said, "So now that you have changed, you cannot go by the same name. You look similar to what you use to look like before but they would only think of you as your former self from a far. Also," He looked me square in the eye like I do when I really want to get my point across, "No one you once knew must know you're alive, got me?" He asked, truly sounding like a father telling a child a must-never-ever-break-rule. "Yes sir, so that means I can't act as someone who knew me toward my friends?" I asked. "You can but you have to be extremely careful about what you say, sometimes it's best to leave the past in the past." He said, his tone softening. "Is there going to be a funeral or memorial?" I asked him, my hopes getting up. "Yes, it's tomorrow, so today we are going into town and you are getting make-up and clothes and you're getting your hair done however you want it." He told me. _'Wow really hitting the "Cool Dad" persona…'_ I thought to myself as my eyebrows shot as high up as they could go. "Really?" I asked him. "Yeah, what kinda rich dad would I be if I didn't treat my daughter like the star like she is?" He remarked. "What kind of star?" I asked, wary of him yet again. "You'll be going to one of the highest ranking schools here in Hollywood and then you'll be going to vocal and music lessons and all of your poems and stories will be crafted into songs." He told me; almost accusing me for being wary of a man I barely know whom claims to be my father after an event that could be called delusional images from a hallucinogen. "So, shall we go?" He asked, putting his bowl in the dishwasher. "Ya, also los vater." I said without thinking, and then I covered my mouth looking at him. "Oh! Sprichtst du Deutsch aus?" He asked in fluent, natural sounding German the shock in his voice matched my expression. "How…"I said testing my voice, "How, did I do that?" I asked him. "When a mermaid or merman is born we automatically learn the language of our forefathers and ours is German but you could've gotten your mothers and that would've been Irish." He said; his voice dipped from his normal cheery voice to one of sadness at the end.

"What happened to her?" I asked, the word mother catching my curiosity. "She died of a broken heart. I had given you to the man you had been with so that her life could be saved, and she hated me for it but I knew we would get you back someday and I tried to tell her that, but she still missed you so much that she went over to the pier and her heart stopped, then she turned into sea foam and fell into the ocean. We…we watched her deteriorate everyday as I kept her from going after you…then I realized that, not only had I lost my daughter, but I had also lost the love of my life. Because merfolk, when they find a partner, they found the one that they are going to have for the rest of their life." He told me, his eyes welling up but not spilling over. I moved to hug him and he stopped me by holding a hand up. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet, which in turn he opened and pulled out a credit card. "Here, it's in your name. A small percentage always went in there whenever I made a profit, I've never used it." He told me, holding it out. "…Thank you…" I said, completely shocked and stunned by the story he just told and the fact that I have a credit card. "You're welcome. It's what your mother would have wanted." He said, giving me a sad smile. "Well, let's go!" He said, shaking his head, taking my hand and putting the card in it. "Um, should I get dressed?" I asked him. "That's what we're going to do; I don't know what you like to wear so we are going shopping to fill both of your closets." He told me, opening a door near the front door. On the inside of that door was a peg board with about four rows of six keys. "What kind of car do you like?" He asked. "Fast and sleek, or big and heavy duty…" I told him fully aware of his 'What the heck?' look. "Hmm, do you like Audi's?" He asked me. He must've seen my eyes widen and light up, or my ears twitch backwards slightly. "Yes! I love Audi's my dream car is either a Ford f-150 or the Audi A9, they are both so cool and the Audi is so pretty." I told him. "Well then," He said grabbing a pair keys near the middle of the third row, "let's go shopping."

"Oh my goodness..!" I said as my dad took me to this gianormous mall that was four floors high and longer than two football fields. "Yeah, so what store do you want to go to first?" He asked me. "Hottopic!" I told him without batting an eye. "What's that?" He asked. "It's hard to describe, you have to see it to understand." I told him, dragging him to a mall map.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

To make a long story short, he didn't originally like Hottopic but as I started showing him what I was actually looking at, he cooled down and left me saying that he was going home and would be back in four hours. Before he left he gave me a phone saying that he already programmed his number into it. In that time I bought pretty much everything I'll ever need from there and then went to a couple of shoe stores before I found a pair of stylish boots, about three pairs of converse along with a couple of pairs of heels and sandals. I then went to Victoria's Secret and got a few things from there. I couldn't help but think of Omar as I looked through the different styles of bras and matching panties. I still remember his number and I seriously thought about calling him. But, then he would freak out about some random person calling him and saying that they liked him and was someone that he's supposed to be going to a funeral for tomorrow. "Yeah, not a good idea…" I trailed off to myself, putting down a dress I had been admiring for some time now. But as I admired the sheer over layer of rich purple on top of the bold pink I sort of fell in love with the dress, so I got it along with several pairs of bras and underwear. When I was finished shopping it was time for my hair appointment, according to my phone. I found the place on the mall directory and nearly had to sprint to make it. After much debate I decided to keep the long hair, but I did get bangs that framed my face and just had it french-braided, starting off-center to the right and wrapping around into the back. After that was done and I had gotten my make-up done, I still had another half an hour so; I hit the food court for a smoothie.

As I stood in line for Java Juice I saw the two people I never would have guessed in a million years, hanging out and holding hands even! There, walking this way was Omar and Sarah, hand in hand, smiling, and yet at the same time they looked sad. Omar had slightly visible tear tracks and Sarah looked like she was there for moral support more than anything. But as I watched them look at each other and smile and brush their heads together, looking like they _were_ a couple; it absolutely killed me on the inside.

_'Maybe I shouldn't go to the funeral if they're going to be there looking like this…'_ I thought as I moved up to the counter. "Hi, what can I get you?" The cashier asked. I looked at her, faking a smile and said, "One large chocolate strawberry banana smoothie please." I said, reaching for my purse that I got at Hottopic and pulling out my wallet. "Will that be all?" The cashier asked, her voice giving a slight hint of suggestiveness. I looked back at her and took in her appearance quickly to tell what she was suggesting. I noticed her slight smile, eyes taking my appearance in. "Yeah," I said, leaning on the counter slightly, "would you want to hang out later?" I asked her, keeping eye contact, and slightly spazzing out over the fact that she has deep purple eyes. "Sure, sounds like a blast." She said, pulling out the receipt and writing her number on it. "But I didn't pay for it yet." I said, opening my wallet. "It's okay; it's on me this time." She said. I looked at her and saw her contagious smile. "Thanks, I'll call you later." I told her, pushing a couple of bags on my arm and grabbing my smoothie. I walked away, the thought of Omar and Sarah together currently away from my mind.

My phone went off after a few minutes I sat down. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw it was my dad. "Hey Daddy," I said as I pushed talk. "Hey sweetie, I'm here where, are you?" He said after a slight pause. "I am in the food court, where are you? I'll come to you." I said to him as I sat up and craned my neck to see if he's here. "I am also in the food court, and I can see a blast from your past is here." He trailed, his voice questioning me. "I didn't know they were here I didn't interact with them." I told him, getting up out of my seat and looking around to find him standing by American Eagle. "I see you I will be there shortly." I told him, bending over to get my stuff and see him locate me with a wave. I waved back and hung up my phone placing it in my pocket. I grabbed my bags and my drink and as I walked over to my father, someone bumped my shoulder causing me to drop my bags. "Oh man I am so sorry." Coming from a baritone male's voice. _'No…'_ I thought to myself as I looked up from grabbing a bag. "It's okay," I said instinctively, "My fault I should watch where I'm going." I ducked my head down as I finished picking up my bags. "Yeah, I should too; I was lost in thought, sorry again." Omar said, his voiced at first was surprised but then filled with sorrow. "It's okay. May I ask what you were thinking about?" I said, sounding like a curious stranger. "I recently lost the girl I loved and I didn't get to tell her I loved her." He said, his eyes watering. The next thing I did, I shouldn't have done. I hugged him and said, "She probably loved you too." Upon realizing what I had said and done, I let him go and took off for my dad. Luckily he hadn't seen anything that had happened.

"Hey kiddo, what took you so long?" He asked me. "I dropped a bag and the rest went with it." I told him, giving him my crooked smile and a shrug. "Well then, allow me to carry some for you." He said, taking a few bags off my arm. "Did you spend all of it?" He asked in a joking manner. "Mhmm I don't know…" I trailed along with the joke. He laughed along with me as we exited the building. I didn't look back, I didn't want to, but I knew that he was watching me wondering why I, a complete stranger in his eyes, hugged him and said what I said. _'I will not tell my dad what happened…he can't find out…' _I thought as we walked away and upon approaching the parking lot I thought I heard the click of a camera. "Dad…" I said, looking around and seeing a couple of people to the side and behind us. "Yeah kiddo, what's up?" He asked. "Why are there people with cameras taking pictures of us?" I asked him. "Surely you've heard of the paparazzi." He said acting like it's natural. Well, it probably is for him but it still un-nerved me a little bit as I dumped my bags in the trunk and got in the car. "Yeah, I'm just not use to it." I told him as I buckled in. "That's normal; I wasn't use to it either when I started my career." Dad told me as we pulled away. "Okay, so it'll become normal later on?" I asked. "Yup, and you're new school requires a uniform so we are going there now to go get them." Dad told me as he pulled into the street. "Okay, is it close by or do I have time for a quick nap?" I asked, my head resting against the window. "It's somewhat close but you can close your eyes." My dad said as he focused on the road. "Thanks Dad." I said with a content sigh as I closed my eyes and focused on the cool window and the warm sun. '_I still love him…I know that I do...' _I thought as my mind fell into the dark realm of dreams.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

_I'm back at the mall watching people from the fourth floor railing, just watching as they all talked and walked and ate and shopped, until I saw Omar and Sarah walking through. I decided I would follow them and act like it was the three of us hanging out. "So, what happened with that girl who hugged you?" Sarah asked. "I don't know, she was just some random chick I ran into by accident and made her drop her bags." Omar said as his face changed while he thought about what had been said between he and I. "Well, for a moment there she looked like Eva from where I was." Sarah told him. "She did look like her didn't she…?" Omar mused while still lost in thought. "To be honest, I thought you had found her when she hugged you, what did she want anyways?" Sarah asked. "She didn't want anything; she hugged me and said that Eva probably loved me too." He told her, his eyes beginning to glimmer with tears. "Hey, hey, hey, no more crying okay? Eva would have wanted us to be happy, even if she did die, remember, we are supposed to throw a party for her." Sarah said, wrapping one arm around Omar. "Yeah, but I can't help but feel that she's not dead, that she's still here…That girl…" Omar trailed off confused in his thoughts. "Hey, don't do that to yourself, you have that new school you're going to right? Have you gotten your uniform yet?" Sarah asked, desperate to change the subject. "No, I have to go get it; my dad would be pissed if we had to order it for more because I was late to pick it up." Omar said, pulling himself together. "Then let's go." Sarah said, leading the boy to the mall exit. I followed them to the exit and stopped. 'Thank you Sarah, for being there for him.' I thought as I felt myself being awakened._

I opened my eyes to see my dad shaking my shoulder. "Come on kiddo, we're here." He said as I got off of the car door and unbuckled myself. Once I stepped out I gave a stretch and a yawn. "How long was I out?" I asked him. "Twenty, maybe twenty five minutes, you slept like a rock kid." He said, messing up my hair teasingly as we approached this gianormous campus. "Are you sure that this is a High School?" I asked him. The main building was at least three stories tall with a glass stairway visible to the road. Then there were separate buildings that were two stories and a beautiful quad area with a fountain, where the cheer leaders were currently stretching.

"This is a High School?" I asked my dad as we walked onto the campus. "Yup, and it is your High School now." He said as he led me to the main office. My dad held open a glass door for me and when I stepped inside I was awe struck by cleanliness of it.

It had a polished oak wood desk lining three fourths of the wall in front of me where two secretaries sat typing away on computers, super thin with their hair pulled back in stylish yet tight buns, one a blonde the other a brunet. My dad walked up to the brunet and said, "Hi, I'm Mr. Kondert, I have enrolled my daughter for this year." She looked at him and her eyes lit up. "Of course Mr. Kondert," She said and then looked at me, "You have a beautiful daughter, and does she need her uniform?" She asked him. "Yes, if you could be so kind as to get her measurements?" He asked her. "Of course, of course," She got up and rounded the desk and motioned for me to follow her, "If you will come this way Ms. Kondert." She said which I had to comply with and dad started talking to the blonde while pulling out a check book.

The secretary and I rounded a corner and I had to almost skip to keep up with her as she went through the corridor that went into what I'm guessing was another office. She opened the door and let me go in first and I saw that it was actually a dressing room, with stage make-up and everything. "Do you have a stage craft class?" I asked her. "Yes and an entire drama department with agents for the exceptionally talented ones. A music department, where you will be most of the time, with vocal trainers and state of the art recording studios, as well as occasional guest speakers." She said sounding very professional. "That's awesome." I said taking in the information. "Yes, so stand here and put your arms up." The brunet said, pulling a measuring tape from her pocket and turning to face me. I did as told and she took my measurements, remembering them before turning around and opening a cabinet. "Okay, here are your uniforms." She said handing me five pairs of navy blue, high waist short skirts with five white short-sleeved button downs and two ribbons. "Those are to be tied in a bow everyday!" The brunet snapped. _"Most students don't, I take it?"_ I asked myself. "Your father has your schedule; I will take you back to him now." The brunet said, opening the door and ushering me out.

As I stepped outside I saw my dad waiting for me, a weird look on his face as the door across from me closed. "Is everything okay dad?" I asked him. He looked at me with a huge smile saying, "Yeah kiddo, everything's great! You have an awesome schedule, at least I think so." He handed me the piece of paper in his hand and, quickly, led me down the hall and out the front doors. "Homeroom then first period, A.P. German five…" I said, very confused. "So you can get used to speaking it and be comfortable and learn some of the culture." He told me, we were in the parking lot and I thought I saw the Dodge that I came to love, but I looked back down and said, "Second period, Art, followed by a thirty minute break? Why so long?" I asked. "Probably so students can pick stuff up from home or some nearby job they might have." Dad suggested. "Oh, okay." I unintelligently said before continuing with the list. "Third period, vocal lessons, fourth…oh okay, I have back to back periods of vocals, then, an HOUR long lunch?!" My dad laughed at my exasperation while unlocking the car. "How long were the lunches back at your old school?" he asked as he got into the Audi. "About forty minutes?" I told him, getting in and buckling my seatbelt. "Wow, that's short…what's next kiddo?" He asked, pulling out of the parking lot and onto the street. "Fifth period, music class. Is that with bands or something?" I asked. "Exactly." He told me. "Okay, and then sixth period is government this semester and economics next semester. Is that all I really need to do this year?" I asked as I checked who all of my teachers were and homeroom, which turns out to be my first period class. "Yup, you have a good last year. You're just getting the basics the first few weeks and then you're moving onto advanced knowledge that will help you with your career." My dad told me. _'Lovely, my future's already decided for me…' _I thought as I watched the streets go past me, celebrities blending in with "normal society". "Hey, Dad," I said. "Yeah?" He asked. "What's it like living as a mermaid?" I asked, my throat a little dry and itchy.

"Well, for starters, you can't really go into the ocean without growing at least some scales. Then there's the craving for S-U-S-H-I, if you speak the word then you will have an unbearable craving for it." He told me. "More so than I already do?" I asked, curious because I can have some pretty bad cravings. "You literally cannot function properly without eating any after hearing that word. Oh yeah, also you may grow one to who knows how many, odd abilities, mine is supreme management skills, I'm a manager for a few celebrities and sport stars, in case I hadn't told you that, as well as being able to tell when a natural disaster is going to happen, and your mothers' was storytelling, so she was an amazing author…and she was a singer, that I believe was passed down to you…" He trailed off as he remembered his mate. "Well, I've got a little bit of both, but…I don't know, I guess my talent isn't so clear yet." I said, a little uncertain as to where to go from there. "Right, well it should be popping up soon, you're at the right age, and plus; you will constantly need water, there are two bottles in the back seat if you need one," My dad added as I took a swig of my smoothie, "And then you will also have a form of connection with water, almost like manipulating it but only the really talented can fully control it." He finished with as we pulled up into a garage parking spot. "What are we doing here?" I asked. "I'm just stopping by the studio where you and I will work at." He answered with a smile. "Um, okay…? What studio are we working for again?" I asked a little skeptic. "Cherry Tree Recordings, come on, you can trust me." He said, walking up to the building with a wave behind his head. _'Cherry Tree studios…where have I heard that before?' _I racked my brain for answers and came up short, so I followed the man who is my real father into the building.

It was around nine o'clock when we finally left, my dad had some paperwork, and then a client came in and that itself lasted a few hours, both of them had walked out happy. So, I had met with the DJ who runs the sound booth, and Mr. Chris is actually a really cool dude; he's himself, no faking, and he had me go into the booth and told me to sing any song that I knew about a minutes worth of. So what did I pick? I picked Disney's _Son of Man,_ which had been my audition song for my school musical last year. Long story short, he liked me and gave me a contract and his number, we have an appointment set up for next week to start working on what sounds best with my voice, and what genre of music I should be in. Also, during my time with Mr. Chris, my favorite band walked in and I nearly fainted of surprise. I love their music and the lead singer was always my favorite, he's so pretty! But they are a foreign rock/pop band that was willing to give me some pointers and then they had to go talk to my dad, but before then the singer and the guitarist gave me their numbers.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Eventually my dad called it a night and as we were on our way home we grabbed some Taco Bell for dinner. "You really like this mild sauce huh?" My dad speculated as I drained another packet after I had finished my food. "Yes, this stuff and DDR is my addiction!" I told him with a smile. "That's…interesting…Oh, and the day isn't over yet." He told me as he pulled off of the highway. "Huh? What do you mean?" I asked him. "We still need to train you on your mermaid talents." My dad said as we parked in front of a beach area.

I stepped out of the car and the cool breeze filled with the salty smell of home beckoned me with a force so strong. "Mocha! Wait!" My dad said, grabbing me by the waist and picking me up in the air. I was flailing; the water was calling me with every crash. "Lemme go. Dad! Let me go!" I kept saying as I was kicking and trying to pry my dads' arms off of me. "No Mocha, wait, resist the water. This is your practice!" He yelled, struggling to get back to the car, fortunately for him I had left my door open in my haste. The water, it was singing to me with a sirens song, the breeze was crueler than a closed bakery with its windows open while it let freshly baked bread cool; taunting the passerby's. Next thing I knew I was thrown in the car and was cut off from my newest hype. It was like a switch.

"Dad…what was that?" I called through the window. "That, was crazy is what that was." My dad said, "I have never seen someone react as badly as you did. Normally a new mermaid would just hear the ocean and be fascinated. You, you were almost controlled by it…" Then my dad looked towards the water and saw how the water was now almost reaching the parking area. As if I WAS being compelled I reached for the handle when he wasn't looking. I had just started to pull the handle open when the door locked.

I looked at my dad, but I didn't plan that, and said, "Really dad? You're locking me in?" except _I_ didn't _SAY _that. And what was another thing; I didn't _sound_ like me. I went from sounding like myself, a normal human, to a whisper or fluidity that had a crash behind it. "Mocha…?" My dad said, his words lingering with concern and fear. The car was unlocked by my hand and I got out. The ocean before us was now lapping at our feet and I could literally feel a sense of relief to feel its soft, cool, welcome. I looked down and smiled at it like a mother would to her newborn baby. "Mocha, I'm sorry." Was all I heard before I lost track of everything.

"Mocha, Hunny, are you okay?" I heard my dad asking me. My head was pounding and ringing at the same time. I reached up to hold it and winced at the touch. "Dad, what happened?" I asked, looking at him and seeing that he's soaked head to toe with cuts here and there. "I tried to get you back in the car by tackling you but the water around us shot up and started to slice at me. It even turned to ice, which is how you got that bump on your head, you slipped on some ice, though I think you were blacking out as you stepped forward because you were already falling. But you slid into the barrier in front of the car. Mocha, are you okay?" He asked me, the worried father overcoming his pain. "I'm fine, but dad, it looks like tiny scratches…" I said, sitting up, despite my arguing head. "We heal faster, depending on the type of injury and the mer-person." My dad said, gently taking my hands in his. "Dad? What's wrong?" I asked him, his vibes rolling with concern and worry. He sat in silence for a little while before looking me in the eye and saying, "Until you can control yourself around the ocean, you are forbidden to go near it."

I gasped and took my hands from his, covering my mouth with them as tears over flowed my eyes. "But, why dad, I'm a mermaid, that's supposed to be my home, I belong there." I cried, this unknown well of fear from being cut-off from the water surging through my veins. "It's only until you can control your hold over the water, or the waters hold over you as it seems in this case. It's temporary and we _will_ work on it." He told me. I was so shocked and mad and scared and so jumbled in my emotions that I looked in square in the eyes and said, "Sushi."

My stomach gave the largest growl and I couldn't stop thinking about all the kinds of sushi I've had before and how to make it. "Dammit Mocha, I have some in the fridge." My dad told me, both us bolting out of my room and scrambling for the kitchen. While I ran down the stairs after getting ahead of my dad, he jumped over the game room-side banister and landed feet in front of me sprinting into the kitchen, me right on his heels. It was almost funny how animalistic we had become for that rice and seaweed wrapped fish.

A few minutes later we were sitting on the kitchen floor, rice all over our hands and face. "Dad…" I called out, suddenly very tired. "Yeah kiddo?" He asked. "That was insane and funny, now that I think about it." I told him. He then started chuckling at the thought and so did I, then, as we really thought about how we were elbowing each other for the tuna roll, we just about cracked our ribs laughing. "I love you kiddo." My dad said. I was stunned into silence as I realized that this man, whom I have spent my entire day with, and fought against for S-U-S-H-I, really was my dad. "Love you too, Dad." I said before falling over asleep. "Goodnight, my dearest Mocha." My dad said as he, once again, carried me to my room, tucking me into the blankets on my bed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I woke up to an alarm going off in my ear. I rolled over and saw that my phone was the alarm and Adam Lambert was telling me to get up and _"Strut" _my way to school. "What? Adam, you lie!" I said in my sleepy "don't wake me" voice. There was a knocking on my door followed by a "Mocha, come on kiddo, it's time to get up." I groaned as I rolled over and out of bed, landing on my feet as I pulled my uniform off of the back of my chair and shoved it into my backpack. I got dressed, brushed all of the knots out of my hair, put it into a loose braid, and then put on some eyeliner and mascara on, to make my hazel green eyes pop, before exiting my room to grab some coffee.

"Aren't you a little too young to be drinking that yet?" Dad asked me. "I've been drinking this nectar since eighth grade." I told him as I took a sip of said goodness. "Do you remember where you're from?" Dad asked. "Yes, we moved here from New York after living in Germany. You traveled a lot and lived here the majority of my life and finally decided to stay here in the lovely Hollywood scene. Then you gave into my begging and let me come out her and live with you." I said as if I was relaying a passage to prove to a teacher that I was paying attention. My dad gave a chuckle and a "Good," before walking over to the garage door and pulling a set of keys off of the rack. "Now, be EXTREMELY careful out there on the road. People might not see you and I don't want you getting hurt." He said before handing me the keys to MY new SUZUKI. When I got it I tackled him in a hug. I hugged him now as I shoved a bagel and hummus into my mouth, slinging my backpack onto my shoulders. "I promise Dad, I will be." I said once I swallowed. He broke the hug and as I passed him into the garage he called out, "Have a good day at school! Beat up the boys who flirt with you!" I waved back at him, helmet on and replied, "I promise I will Dad" as the garage door opened.

Once clear to leave I rolled out onto the driveway and then shot off through the open gate and onto the highway that led to my school. I got there about fifteen minutes later and I parked my bike and headed for a bathroom. As I walked past a group of girl I could hear them whispering, "Can you believe that we have a bunch of new classes this year?" "Yeah, and I hear the teachers are mega hott." One them squealed at that comment. "Oh, I hope so…and speaking of mega, hey new girl!" One yelled towards me. I looked at them a blank face. "Don't you know that there are rules here, like no drag!" The leader said, her flock laughing with her. "Oh, then shouldn't you change clothes? Plus those boobs are so not your type, you should go with a bigger size, then someone might notice you." I spat at her before continuing on, the girls flock either stunned silent or "Ooooh"-ing my response.

I walked into the bathroom into another stall and as I was changing someone popped there head over the dividing wall and said, "Okay, you are officially cool. No one has ever stood up to Bethany on their first day. With the whole, don't want to start off with a bad rep and all that crap." The new comer said. I looked up and saw the girl from Java Juice over head. "Hi again, sorry I never called you, things got crazy at home." I told her. It took her a second to connect the dots but when she did, "Oh! Hi! Nah, it's all cool, it was the same for me, what having three jobs and A.P. classes that give you tons of homework can get incredibly insane." She said as I finished getting dressed and walked out. "You have three jobs?! Yuck! I feel your pain sister." I told her. "How, from what it looked like last time, you look pretty set." She stated. "It wasn't always like that you know…" I told her. "Oh, yeah I can get that…You know, you're really cool, hang with me during lunch?" She asked. "Totally! Name's Mocha by the way." I said, sticking my hand out. "Rave, as in the party, and yes that is my actual name, I changed it legally myself." She said shaking my hand and smiling in that contagious manner again. "Wicked name, well I'm off to homeroom, I'll see you Rave." I said as I walked out of the bathroom and across the quad area.

As I approached my German classroom, that was also my homeroom, I remembered how thrilled I was the first year I had in high school and how Omar nagged at me to take a foreign class with him, I don't remember which one it was but he was ecstatic to take it. I smiled as I remembered his smiling face and how his eyes lit up whenever a challenge or an opportunity came his way. That made me remember; when I stole a kiss from him, my face flushing as I walked into my homeroom. I looked up at the teacher who was this stout man that was going bald but also had facial features and seemed very lively as he spoke in German to a couple of really tall kids. They laughed and I looked around to the white board where it said, "Sitzen woimmer." I looked at the already filling classroom and found a couple of open seats next to each other. I took the one on the left and as I sat my backpack on the ground I was asked, "Is this desk taken?" By this really shy feminine voice. I looked up to see that it was a girl who looked way younger than me with a bob haircut carrying her books in her arms with an over full backpack. "No, go ahead, it's open." I told her with a friendly smile. "Thanks," she said, spilling her books onto the desk. "Anytime, I'm Mocha." I said, sticking my hand out after she sat down. "Megan," She said shaking my hand with a smile.

The bell rang as the last few kids came shuffling in, one of them, a tall blonde guy with muscles and know he's hott, even came in on a skateboard. "Kole! Skateboard, now." Mr. Under snapped at him. "Aw, come on teach, it'll be just this one time, I promise." The guy, Kole, replied. "But that's the thing Kole, you always say that and you never follow through." Mr. Underhill told him and walked over to him and held his hand out. With an annoyed sigh, Kole handed over his skateboard and then slouched in his chair. "Thank you, Kole. Now, good morning class!" Mr. Underhill called out. "Good morning Mr. Underhill." The majority of us replied. "Welcome to your final year of high school. Today is a bit weird on the schedule and there's no morning announcements this morning and-Oh, hello, you're late…are you new here?" Mr. Underhill said as the door opened.

I looked up from my doodle to see Omar, standing in the doorway. "Yeah, is it first period?" He asked confusion clear in his voice. "Oh, no this is homeroom, do you know where yours' is?" Mr. Underhill asked him. "Um…room 118?" Omar said, looking up from his schedule, for a second, he saw me. His eyes lit up in recognition and then focused back on Mr. Underhill when he said, "Oh, that's the class next door." Omar looked at Mr. Underhill with a smile saying thanks. "Anytime, see you next period." Our teacher replied with a smile. When Omar left I basically stopped listening to Mr. Underhill and was just doodling with the notes I subconsciously took.

The bell rang about fifteen minutes later and Meg tapped my arm. "Where's your next class?" She asked me. "Right here," I told her with a big smile. "Oh, maybe that guy who walked in earlier will sit next to you; it looked like he likes you." Meg said, a giggle following her words as Omar came in unnoticed. A blushed covered my face as I looked down momentarily. "Meg, that's mean." I said sticking my tongue out at her. "We shouldn't be mean to people we don't know, now should we?" The guy Kole said walking over and sitting down in the desk in front of me. "Names Kole, in case you weren't paying attention earlier." Kole said. "Mocha," I told him, his attitude annoying me a little bit, my voice cluing him in on that fact. "So, Mocha, you're new here too?" Kole asked, my tone going over his head. "In case you weren't paying attention earlier, yes." I told him with a fake smile. "Ah, playing hard to get, I like that." He said, leaning onto my desk. "I've got to go…" Meg said, walking away. "Wait! Meg, no goodbye hugs?" I asked as I followed her then hugging her around her books. "I'll see you at lunch?" She asked. "Yes definitely if not before then." I told her as she walked away. I then saw Kole walk away with his stuff to the other side of the room as Omar sat down in Meg's recently vacated desk. _'Oh. Shit.' _I thought as I walked back over to my desk.

When I sat down, there were two slips of paper on my desk. I grabbed the one closest to me. "In case you ever get bored babe, here's my number, Kole." And underneath that was in fact Koles' number. I laughed and shoved that in my binder as I read the other one. "In case you need to escape Mister Psycho Blondey. Omar (look to your right)" I looked at Omar and smiled at him. "Thanks, I'm really gonna need this." I said to him with a light tone. "Omar," He introduced, sticking his hand out. "Mocha," I told him, smiling even more as I shook his hand. "You know Mocha, you remind me of a friend of mine from my old school." Omar said as he pulled out his notebook. "Is that bad?" I asked him, knowing exactly whom it was he was talking about. "No, it's great actually, means that I won't be too miserable here." He said with a laugh. "I know what you mean. I'm gonna miss my friends too." I told him. "You're new as well?" He asked. "Guilty as charged." I said out of habit. There was a flash of pain behind his eyes but he hid it with a smile.

"Ruhe, bitte! Ruhe!" The teacher, Mr. Underhill, called out to the class which instantly quieted down, interrupting what I was about to say. "Hallo, guten morgen." He said. "Guten Morgen Herr Underhill." The class responded. "Wer haben zwei neue studen, hallo." Mr. Underhill said, gesturing to Omar and I. I waved nervously at the attention, and Omar just nodded to the class. _'Playing Mr. Bad and Silent as usual, huh?' _I thought to myself, shaking my head while smiling. "Why don't you tell us something about yourselves, but in German, since we all are in AP German five we will only speak German in here." Mr. Underhill told us. I looked at Omar, whom waved his hand to say "Go ahead, lady's first." I nodded and stood facing the class, trusting my voice to know what to do.

"Hi, I'm Mocha. I'm a new student from New York. I was born in Germany, I switched living between both places until I was about six or so, then I was permanently in New York. My dad finally gave in and let me spend my last year of school in sunny Cali with him." I told them in natural sounding and fluent German. "Wow. That's really cool." Mr. Underhill said, and then gestured to Omar who stood as I sat. "Um, hi, I'm don't have a cool of a story to tell but; I'm Omar, I'm from Santa Barbra, I'm here because my mom thought that it would be good to get a head start in life." He said before sitting back down. I stared at him through my bangs in shock. _'He's never mentioned his mom before…why didn't he ever tell me?' _I asked myself before turning my attention back to Mr. Underhill.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

That had to have been the best first day of school, in the history of first days. Art was fun, we didn't really do anything but I made another friend, her name is really Dylan, but I call her Shadow cause that's what she introduced herself as. She's an incredibly talented artist and turns out; she's also a mermaid, from Australia! She could sense it from me and then after class, during the thirty minute break, she pulled me aside and told me about her being one too. Least to say I was thrilled to find another one and it was a bonus that she's my age. She gave me tips about water activities and where scales mostly show up. Then turned out that I had three more classes with Omar, vocal lessons and music class; which wasn't really a shocker seeing as how he was an amazing guitarist. He sat with Shadow, Rave, Meg and I during lunch and I had to catch myself from using an inside joke that Omar and I had, and that caught Shadow's attention.

So, a few days later, we were chilling near the parking lot in front of the school waiting for Shadows' ride. "So, how do I turn into an actual mermaid, like with tail and everything?" I asked her as the thought popped into my head. "You don't really change all the way unless you want to." She said, grabbing my hand and flipping it palm-side up. "Out of curiosity, have you found your mate?" She asked me studying my hand. "I'd like to think so, but I don't know exactly…" I told her looking at the ground with a blush. "So, in the dream stage of the changing process, and the whole dying part, was there a guy or girl that you knew or didn't know that you were drawn too? Or sometimes you find them by the sheer pulling of fate, like your feet were moving of their own accord, has that happened?" She asked me. "There were several people during that time that I cared for that I saw and no I haven't had that happen." I told her. Looking out at the quad from the tucked away corner where we were standing. "Hang on, if there were multiple people that you saw then there must've been ONE person that you were drawn to the most because you already know them." She said, pressing the subject. "Yeah, I do, okay! But I can't let them know that I'm alive, they think I've drowned. That I'm dead!" I hissed at her, keeping my voice low. "Dude, chill, you're stirring the waters nearby." Dylan told me as my water bottle shook violently on the ground.

I took a couple of deep breaths and the water bottle slowed down to standing still before falling over. "So, you're really new to the change, huh…" She mused before circling and looking me up and down. "Yes, I changed nearly four months ago." I told her, not even bothering to look at her while I leaned against the wall, halting her circling. "Dude, stand up." She commanded. "Why?" I asked her, my voice dry and tired. "Because, I'm learning about you and by doing that I can help you with your ocean problem." She told me, pulling me off the wall and continued circling. "How…how do you know about that?" I asked her, amazed that she knew. "I gather info from people by observing them, it's my _special_ talent." She told me, abruptly stopping. "That's how you knew I was a mermaid…" I muttered to myself. "Yeah, plus, your eyes, they reflect the ocean almost to a tee." Shadow said as she sat down and pulled out a sketch book. "Hang on!" I suddenly blurted after a few minutes of silence. This startled Shadow as she looked at me expectantly. "Are we like water benders from avatar?" I asked her, the childish ring in my voice. Shadow then face-palmed and cracked up laughing. "You gave me a heart attack to ask me that?!" She laughed, falling to the side, her sketchbook falling to the ground and pens flying everywhere. I laughed as well while I helped her collect her things. "Yeah, it's what it seems like!" I told her, a tingling sensation creeping up the base of my skull.

I stopped laughing and faced the quad, looking past it to a classroom that I saw Kole and some friends walk into. "I'll be right back." I told her as I nearly ran to the classroom. I stopped myself from barging in there and looked in through a window. Kole and his buddies were standing around someone and I was getting really bad vibes as the tingling increased in the back of my skull and worked its way forward. I then looked at the sign on the window seeing that this was a Mr. Johnston's math classroom. I walked in, looking down at my backpack, opening it saying, "Hey, Mr. Johnston? I had a question on the-" I then looked up to see the boys and Kole, with a raised fist, open up a small gap to see Omar and everyone looking at me. "Oh, hi guys…what's going on? Is Mr. Johnston here?" I asked, playing on the innocent, accidentally walking in, student as I walked into the classroom fully, the door shutting behind me. "No, sorry Mocha, he left during sixth period since he doesn't have one." Kole said, lowering his fist and walking over to me, his buddies walking out of the room. "Oh, well, that sucks…Hey, Omar I actually need to talk to you." I said, walking past Kole and over to the said ginger. "Hey, what's up Mocha?" He asked, glancing at Kole as he walked out of the classroom.

"Are you okay? It looked like they were going to pound you into the ground." I told him once the door was shut, lightly moving his face with my hand once. "Yeah, I'm fine, how did you know we were in here?" He asked, removing my hand from his face and lightly holding them. "A guy and his goons hanging around a classroom AFTER school is suspicious looking so I was going to check on whoever it was they were picking on. It just turned out to be you." I lied. _'I've gotten better at that…'_ I thought as Omar looked me in the eyes. A blush creeped onto my cheeks as he searched my eyes; like he was trying to see through a mask, my mask. "I'm sorry, it's just you look so much like someone I recently lost…" He told me, looking down and tears threatened his eyes. "I remember you told me that, at the mall that one time…I'm really sorry for your loss." I told him, looking down unable to bear seeing him looking so depressed.

He then hugged me. I instinctively hugged him back tightly, like I used to whenever something bad would happen to him or whenever he just looked like he needed a hug. "So," He said, breaking the hug and holding me by the shoulders at arm length, "What was it you were going to ask me?" He asked. "I was wondering if you wanted to start a group in music class. Maybe we could start a band or something?" I asked him, looking him in the eye hopefully. "That'd be cool." He said, smiling and being all nonchalant about it, playing up the bad boy thing again. I giggled my thanks and then remembered Shadow when I got a text from her. "Oh, crap! I left my stuff with Shadow." I said as I bolted for the door.

"I'll come with; I'm driving home anyways so I can chill for a while if you're waiting for a ride." He told me, opening the door for me after jumping over some desks. "Oh, okay, coolness, that'd be great! But I've got my own set of wheels too." I said proudly as I walked out with him right behind me. "Oh, that's cool, what do you drive?" He asked as we approached Shadow. "A Suzuki," I him, giving him my Cheshire grin. "Ooooh, sounds about right for a girl like you." He said, laughing a little. "For a girl like me? And how would you know what type of girl I am?" I teased. "You give off those vibes sweetheart." He said, giving me his heart melting smile. I laughed as Shadow came over and pulled me away from Omar to the corner whispering, "He's the one! The one I saw, your mate!" I looked at her like she just sprouted another head. "I'm serious, look!" She said, shoving the scene from the beach where Omar was on top of me in my face. "But Shadow, my dad…he told me to stay away…" I whispered back. "Tell your dad I drew this, he knows my family, my dad and him work together." Shadow said as a black town car pulled up in front of us, thrusting the page in my hands. "I'll trust you on this one, please don't tell anyone, okay?" I asked her. "Don't sweat it, I can't tell without permission, it's part of the package with my talent." She said before saying a "See ya," to Omar and getting into the door that was opened for her.

I sighed and looked at the paper before placing it face down and pulling my backpack on top of it. "What's that?" Omar asked. "Just some notes for art class that she got for me." I told him as I pulled my binder out and slipped the drawing out and into the folder without him seeing much. "Oh, okay, what was she talking about, seeing someone, a "mate" of yours?" He asked. "Oh, that's just what she calls friends or something, she does it randomly. 'Cause, you know, she's from Australia, and they do that…" I rambled about ending with a nervous chuckle. "Okay, I'm going to apologize right now if I ever call you Eva, but okay…hey, do you like Adam Lambert?" He asked me, I noticed, to ease the building tension. My ears perked up at the sound of the amazing artist's name. "I love him! His music is amazing, and I love that he wasn't afraid to come out as being gay while on American Idol." I told him, a real smile back on my face. "That's cool, well I asked because he's having a concert at the beach in a few weeks…and I was wondering…would you go with me?" He asked, his voice hinting the nervousness that was obvious. _'Always acting so strong…'_ I thought as I watched him rub the back of his neck like he did when he would get nervous. "I'd love to!" I told him, my heart racing as I got up and hugged him. He hugged me back, picked me up and spun me around, earning a squeal and many giggles. "So, I will get the tickets and you will not be disappointed, I promise." He told me when he put me down. I couldn't help but giggle at him as he smiled so brightly. "I bet it will be." I said, my smile lingering a while longer.

Just then, my phone started vibrating in my pocket. "Gah, my vibrators going off…" I said as I pulled out my phone. "It's my dad." I told Omar before turning around and answering it. "Hey, Dad, what's up?" I asked him. "Where are you? You have work after school, remember?" My dad said, his tone clearly indicating that he was both worried and annoyed, since he's my boss and all. "Oh, crap, I totally forgot! I'm sorry Dad; I'm on my way right now." I told him hearing him say "Hurry, but be safe!" before the line went dead. "I've got to go, I totally spaced on the fact that, I have work!" I explained to Omar as I shoved all of my things back into my backpack. "It's chill, but how does your dad know that you're late?" He asked, probably thinking I have a Big Brother of a dad. "He's my boss slash manager slash agent." I told him as I slid my pants on underneath my skirt. Omar looked away when he saw what I was doing and then offered me a hand up once my shoes were back on. "Thanks," I mumbled as I took it and was pulled up into his arms, his lips colliding with mine for a split second before he pulled away. "Have fun at work." He told me, his eyes dying to say a name he knew he shouldn't.

I looked him in the eyes, taking a few minutes more to hug him and to say, "I can't be your Eva, but I can try to be your Mocha." I told him. I then took off running to my bike as tears threatened over flow and cause unneeded drama. I threw my helmet on as I started the engine and carefully pulled out into the intersection, sniffling now that my face was hidden behind the visor, and then sped off to Cherry Tree Records.


End file.
